It was only a short walk to one of the many floating square matt silver flat platforms that people without the ability to fly could use to get around the city. With a careful small jump, as I didn’t want to fall flat on my face, I passed through the protective blue barriers. These force fields would allow you to enter and exit the platform only when it is safe. When I was standing in the center of the square shape platform, the city system read my desired destination and platform configuration. Then with a burst of a safety inertia-dampening field that made the acceleration smooth, it flashed into the air.

My desired configuration had already solidified a field around me to my chest height. This stopped me from getting vertigo as the platform flew into the empty void of the city.

In a second, I was at my destination, as where I wanted to go was only a few levels up on the vast superstructure of the city's utility area.

I smiled as I looked around at another rather sizeable open plaza part of one of the accommodation platforms that fanned out from the structure. This city area was more to my liking than the stuffy, overly grand train station I had just left. I walked into the bustling Plaza, surrounded by beautiful Renaissance-style architecture; the aroma of freshly baked bread and simmering tomato sauce filled my senses, intermingled with the clinking of glasses and the lively chatter of patrons. The plaza was bustling with activity as people moved about, chatting and laughing as they enjoyed the city's warmth.

The square was surrounded by majestic buildings with intricate facades and ornate balconies. Each structure seemed to compete with the next in terms of grandeur and elegance, with vibrant red and orange hues that seemed to glow in the light. The grand fountain at the center of the square added to the ambiance, its cascading water creating a soothing background sound.

Groups of people gathered at the numerous outdoor cafes and restaurants, sipping wine and enjoying the delicious cuisine. The smells wafting from each eatery were irresistible, with plates piled high with fresh pasta and seafood and mouth-watering pizzas emerging from the wood-fired ovens. This all was with the advanced technology that was present in this city. Still, it was disguised in the architecture to give a sense of another time and place.

In the center of the square, the entertainment was equally impressive, with performers taking to the stage and captivating the audience with their music and dance. The energy in the plaza was electric, with people clapping and cheering as the performers took their final bows.

Around the edges of this plaza were many small buildings used as shops or homes for the ‘poorer’ populous of the ‘City in the Stars.’ I could see some of the small winding streets leading off into the network of pathways that allowed people to navigate this level attached to the edge of the superstructure.

Looking toward the path into the maze of buildings, I moved quickly as I was still trying to blend into the background. The ‘supers’ that I passed on this level were not the elite of the ‘supers’ in the city as they, by necessity, had to take a job to extend their stay in the ‘City in the Stars.’ Each of them was in a splendid super suit and still looked like a statue from the renaissance. However, over the colorful clothing, most of them had jackets indicating that they were part of the maintenance teams of the city. A similar jacket was waiting for me at my destination as I was part of the maintenance workforce.

I sometimes wondered why with all the high technological automation in this city, it needed any humans to help with its running or maintenance. However, as I had been told by the city's master A.I., some things are more cost-effective to do with humans rather than robots. I was not totally convinced by that statement as I often wondered if the city employed this numerous workforce to develop an economy that didn’t rely upon external money.

Considering these thoughts, I nearly bumped into several people as my mind – as usual – was not paying attention to the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other. Even though these people were at the bottom of the ‘super’ hierarchy, they still reacted quickly to avoid hitting me. Whenever they had to dodge, I saw the flash of a smile on their faces as they considered it their lucky day. While the karma points would be low for this interaction, at least they would gain some.

The hunger pangs hit me in my gut as I moved along one of the alleyways that wound through the building that looked as if they had been styled in the Italian city's classical renaissance style.

I regretted my choice of skipping breakfast this morning as I had to get my brother to the train station. So now I was hungry, and thankfully, I was in the right area to fulfill my hunger pains. Under a yellow-orange archway with a few people walking on top, I saw one of the many coffee and pastry shops that dotted this area.

With a happy skip, as I was going to enjoy something to eat, I joined the back of the small queue; I waited for the busy barista to acknowledge my presence. Then picking out the type of coffee I wanted and a chocolate-filled croissant, the woman started to make the coffee. In a while, she was finished, and she looked back at me questioningly.

She asked, “Sorry dear, I forgot to ask how much Superiorum you want in your food?”

I kept a slight smile on my face as I hoped the busy woman would have forgotten. But of course, she didn’t, as the ability to irradiate the food with Superiorum was the reason this café had people manning the shop like many establishments in the district. For some reason, the city controlling A.I. required people to operate the Superiorum irradiators. This device was on a metal shelf behind the waiting barista, looking very much like a secure lock box with some controls to the side.

At that moment, somebody was placing a cup of steaming coffee inside the slick silver box. Swiping a security card, they entered a small dosage of the Superiorum that would be infused into the liquid. Then because of the shielding, the only indication that anything had happened was a green light.

The woman waiting for me asked, “Are you okay, dear?”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Sorry, my mind was elsewhere. Oh, I need no Superiorum in the food.”

The woman serving me looked shocked as she passed over the food.

With a questioning look on her kind, considerate face, she said, “Oh, you poor dear, you cannot even afford one dose ….” Then she, for the first time, must have noticed my outfit that was not a super suit. “Oh, and you even dress like a civilian … are you just about to be expelled?” With this probing comment, she at least had the grace to look embarrassed that she had blurted her observation out.

Taking a sip of my coffee was a welcome relief as it tasted good. The great taste made me slightly more amenable. I might return to this coffee shop, so with a smile, I said, “Nothing like that. You see, I’m just a citizen, not a ‘super.’”

With this statement, I could see her questioning look as if she couldn’t understand how I was a citizen in this city. I was used to this standard reaction from the supers that had not been in the city long enough to understand how the city worked. She knew that the background radiation would affect me even if I didn’t enter one of the academies or have any Superiorum treatments. This would at least give me some low-level superpowers that would be valuable in the one-star federation. However, apparently, I was still a ‘citizen’ in this city, and she couldn’t understand how that was even possible.

Without answering her confused look, I waved goodbye. One thing I knew would happen when I turned my back would be that she would make some small excuse to take a much-needed break. Then my guess is that she would quickly search – on her communication device - about the ‘Citizen’ in the city. This search would produce many articles and even forums that were about my brother and me.

As I walked along the street, sipping and biting into the food, I wondered if the forums had been updated to tell people that my brother had left the city.

Of course, they would have, I thought with some resentment. I am probably being tracked at the moment, as anything different is a curiosity.

Putting these gloomy thoughts to the back of my mind, I strolled onward to the depot. It was only a five-minute stroll to the side street that led to the supposed ‘High Radiation Maintenance Depot.’ This was a tiny depot, and until this morning, it only had two staff members. With my brother leaving this morning, the staff level had reduced by half, leaving only me. I was not looking forward to the quiet depot or even less to the quiet house attached.

Thankfully I reached the street – without stumbling again - with its many brick townhouses that were all tastefully decorated in pastel colors. Walking along this street always made me feel comfortable as I identified it with heading for home. With care, I passed by some of the small cafés with alfresco dining areas set up on the cobbled pavements of the street. Some of the familiar proprietors waved at me as I passed by. I gave a polite wave in reply to each of them.

As I walked through the small courtyard, I looked with appreciation at the stunning Italian Renaissance-style architecture that surrounded me. The weathered stone walls were adorned with intricate carvings and sculptures depicting scenes from ancient myths and stories. The stonework had been crafted with such precision and attention to detail that it was hard to believe that it had been standing for centuries.

The large wooden door at the back of the courtyard was the epitome of grandeur. It was made of dark, heavy wood and was decorated with elaborate carvings of angels and cherubs. The iron bars that crisscrossed the surface were not just functional but also served as a decorative element, adding to the door's beauty.

As the door creaked open, I could see that the interior of the depot was just as stunning as the exterior. The walls were covered in frescoes depicting scenes from the establishment of the federation. The ceiling was made of ornate plasterwork, with intricate patterns and designs that were breathtaking to behold. The floors were made of marble, each tile carefully selected and placed to create a stunning mosaic effect.

It was clear that every aspect of the design had been carefully considered, from the grandeur of the entrance to the smallest details of the frescoes and plasterwork. The architecture was a testament to the skill and creativity of the Renaissance period that was being copied.

I entered a room off the main foyer that would take me where I needed to be.

When I entered, a familiar, pleasant-sounding voice said, “Welcome home, Jane; how was Jacks farewell?”

I replied, stepping into the square room with its red-orange terracotta tiled floor and the decorated wall with paintings of the city around me, “All that I expected it to be.”

The voice lowered by a few octaves as it replied, “Sorry about that.”

I waved my hand as if dismissing the A.I.’s apology, “It's not your fault. Life is sometimes … somewhat unfair to some and beneficial to others.”

I paused as the large wooden door close behind me. In a polite tone, the voice asked, “Home or the depot?”

I quickly scanned my hand. When the screen appeared, I saw a flashing red urgent job at the top of my list. I said to the voice, “Why didn’t you tell me that there was an urgent high-level job waiting for me?”

“Jane, you could work yourself to death and never finish your job list. There is always something that’s going to need to be done. As I’ve told you many times, the list is for you to know what to do next. Let me worry about the rest.”

When the unfathomable artificial intelligence had finished talking to me, the door I had just come through opened again. Instead of the wooden door opening into the other room, it opened into a vast hangar.

The walls were silver-white and covered in intricate patterns of glowing blue lines, giving the space an otherworldly feel. The most prominent exit was the glowing blue shield that led to the city's interior. To the back of the hanger were racks of equipment on palates looking much like a warehouse. Among the racks of equipment on palates were not just any ordinary machinery but advanced robots that were more intelligent than most humans. Some of them had multiple arms and legs, while others floated through the air on small propulsion field generators. They moved around with incredible speed and agility, loading and unloading cargo from the shuttles with ease.

At the moment, there were three shuttles in the hangar. The smallest of the three, which was the size of a large truck and shaped like a smooth box, was sitting ready for launch. I noticed that its smooth exterior was not just a design choice but a result of advanced nanotechnology. The surface of the shuttle appeared to be made up of countless tiny, interconnected machines that could shift and reshape themselves in response to external stimuli. I knew that this was how the shuttle was able to adjust its shape and size depending on the cargo or passengers it needed to transport.

An orifice at the side was open with a ramp leading up to the front of the box-shaped shuttle.

The close-to-omnipresent voice of the A.I. told me, “You can change in the craft.”

With a quick burst of speed, I ran up the ramp into the cockpit at the front of the craft. As I stepped onto the ramp leading up to the shuttle, I felt a slight tingling sensation under my feet. Looking closer, I could see that the ramp was also made up of tiny nanomachines working together to create a sturdy, non-slip surface.

The cockpit had a straightforward layout configuration, with only a chair sitting in the center of the square area and a pile of fabric lying on top of the chair.

Without any fuss, I sat down on the chair as I picked up the fabric and then felt the form of the chair flow around my body as it molded its shape to best fit my current position. From the corner of my eye, I saw the ramp move as the material reformed itself like a flowing liquid covering the hole through which I had entered the craft.